The Infiltration Begins!

He Lingchuan's heart tightened. "How could—" How could such a catastrophic blunder happen at a critical moment like this! But before the words had finished leaving his mouth, he checked himself. Fang Canran had an entire organization behind him, unlike a solitary lone wolf like himself. With more people came a higher chance of mistakes. That was an objective reality no one's will could alter. Fixing blame was meaningless now. If it were Dong Rui, he would probably say something like, "What does your people getting exposed have to do with me?" After all, Fang Canran had little involvement in their upcoming plan. He Lingchuan frowned. "What does he intend to do?" According to their original calculations, the best time to act would be two days from now, when the Tianluo Star moved directly above Tianxuan Peak. "He wants you to call the shots!" Lingbo squawked in its peculiar parrot cadence. "If you insist on sticking to the original plan, we will pull out the exposed personnel immediately!" He Lingchuan glanced at it. "Did you deploy a lot of people?" Lingbo tilted its head and gave no answer. Evidently, the answer was yes. "Move the mission forward!" He Lingchuan calculated quickly on his fingers. "We strike tonight!" According to the original plan, the position of the Tianluo Star would have been more ideal; but that slight discrepancy could be adjusted for. Besides, Fang Canran had a large network; if they waited any longer, who knew if another blunder would occur, or whether this one could even be dealt with silently? Better to seize the day than wait for the perfect hour. In for a penny, in for a pound—they might as well do it tonight! Lingbo nodded, flapped its wings, and flew off. It had to hurry back to deliver the message. Afterward, He Lingchuan went to wake Dong Rui, then contacted Juju through his fire spirit avatar, announcing that the Mount Xu Plan was moved forward to tonight. "What, now?" Juju's voice shot up an octave. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm heading to Mount Xu right now!" He Lingchuan said decisively. "As soon as I arrive, we begin!" "Good, good!" Juju was also excited. "I told you long ago, you've been dragging your feet too much!" Plans could never keep up with changes. Where was there ever such a thing as absolute perfection or a flawless scheme? Complaining now would only be a waste of time. He Lingchuan and Dong Rui entered the snail-toad's massive shell, and the creature burrowed into the earth, advancing toward Mount Xu. He Lingchuan brought out paper and a brush, calculating rapidly. The data he had originally calculated was meant for two days later; since the plan had been pushed forward, he had to calculate the location of the formation core for tonight. Any error in the details or any sudden unexpected development could lead to failure. Facing a colossus like the Heavenly Palace, the cost of trial and error was far too exorbitant; he had no choice but to be cautious to the extreme. He had also drawn up contingency plans in case of failure, but even if he managed to escape with his life, this was likely his only chance to obtain the Dafang Pot lid. Miss it, and it would be gone forever. Beside him, Dong Rui did not dare disturb him, but he had already taken two deep breaths, unable to dispel the anxiety in his chest. Days of careful scheming—was it really about to begin now?! His task was simple—just providing backup and extraction. All the hard work lay on He Lingchuan. Yet even so, he was so nervous his palms were slick with sweat. Dong Rui discreetly wiped his hands against his trouser legs, but still couldn't resist asking He Lingchuan in a low voice: "Hey, are you really not nervous?" What this man was about to do tonight was challenge the celestial gods of Lingxu in mortal flesh! In six hundred years, every madman who had dared to attempt such a thing had died. Not a single one had ever succeeded! Yet how could he be so calm, as if he were just visiting someone's home rather than rushing off to a battle of life and death? He Lingchuan glanced at him and continued his work. "In the face of great events, one must maintain composure. Isn't it a bit late to start getting nervous now?" Not being nervous right now is what's abnormal, alright? Dong Rui rolled his eyes. "What concerns me is that Fang Canran has his own agenda," He Lingchuan said. "According to our prior agreement, his people should already be on standby in the north of the city. Why would they get exposed in the south right now?" Dong Rui's heart seized. "Are you saying he's going to turn on us?" He Lingchuan waved a hand. "No, there's no need to worry about that. Fang Canran's will is resolute, and he hates Lingxu City far more than I do. In my view, he simply has his own private plan." "If there were nothing in it for him, why would he help us?" Dong Rui remarked offhandedly. "He's not walking the same path as us anyway." He Lingchuan clapped his hands together. "Well said! That's exactly it!" Fang Canran had plotted in Lingxu City for so long; how could he be content merely playing second fiddle to He Lingchuan's plan? Yet the arrow was notched to the bowstring and had to fly. As long as He Lingchuan knew Fang Canran would not actively sabotage him, that was enough. He needed to focus on the task at hand first. After half an hour, the calculations were complete. He verified them carefully several times until he was certain there were no errors. The soul-snatching mirror had been holding back for a long time, and now it finally coughed. He Lingchuan ignored it. The mirror coughed again. He Lingchuan sighed, stood up, walked to the side, and muttered in an undertone, "Out with it." The mirror immediately began chattering away: "I want to ask you... I'll ask you again... once you step onto Mount Xu, there's no turning back. A-Are you sure you want to do this? It's not too late to turn around right now." This was the final chance to abandon the venture and choose safety! Its master's plan was truly insane and bizarre. Even though it had watched He Lingchuan lay out the arrangements piece by piece and make preparations step by step, taking it from an ethereal fantasy all the way to having a real prospect of success... The more it thought about it, the more terrified it grew! What if it failed? The odds of that "what if" were not small at all. After all, He Lingchuan was going up against the Heavenly Palace. The Heavenly Palace, which all living beings were forced to look up to. Win or lose, He Lingchuan would face the wrath of the entire empire of Beijia. That mountain-collapsing, ocean-churning pressure, that relentless pursuit scouring heaven and earth down to the underworld—just thinking about it made the mirror feel suffocated. Was it too late to cry, scream, and find a new master? He Lingchuan cracked his knuckles, producing a couple of sharp snaps. His expression and tone were as tranquil as an unrippled well. "I could turn and leave, but I would spend the rest of my life on the run." As long as the Heavenly Palace held the divine artifact, the secret of He Lingchuan's bond with the Dafang Pot would be uncovered sooner or later. Who knew when the Heavenly Palace would track him down? They would never spare him, just as they had never spared the Yuan Kingdom, nor Panlong City. Leaving now would merely buy temporary peace. He would likely spend the rest of his life in constant dread—assuming he even had a rest of his life. "If I can take back the divine artifact, the world will open wide before me." This hurdle was the hardest, but only by clearing it would infinite possibilities open up. Fundamentally, this was a choice. Did he want to live in suppression, or fight with hearty abandon? Dong Rui happened to lean over just then, having missed the words: "Take back what?" Did he mean Zhu Erniang's immortal moult? He Lingchuan ignored him. On this journey to Beijia, he had become a completely different person from a few months ago. Whether in vision, insight, and breadth of perspective, or cultivation, martial skill, and state of mind, he was advancing by leaps and bounds. And he faintly sensed that the key to his next breakthrough still lay in the words: bold and vigorous advancement. What he cultivated was the Wave Slash mental technique; he was destined to confront surging waves and tempestuous seas, to become the proud master of the tides. This was the price of growth, the price of progress. For his future prospects and his cultivation progress, the Mount Xu Plan was a natural chasm. Cross it, and the flood dragon would enter the sea. Fail to cross it, and this life of his would be ended. He could simply give up, just as the mirror suggested. But if he turned his back and let such an opportunity slip away, he didn't know if he would ever have another chance. So what choice was there, really? Before him, there had only ever been one path. He still remembered the words He Yue had asked him before the He family left Blackwater City for Xiazhou: "Brother, I'm ready. How about you?" The snail-toad happened to surface just then. He Lingchuan looked up at the pitch-black canopy of the sky and exhaled a long breath. "I'm ready too." Ready to poke a hole right through these heavens! The moon was dark and the wind blew high. He Lingchuan and Dong Rui, riding the snail-toad, surfaced in the mountain woods along the outer perimeter of Mount Xu. With the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation present, escape arts were prohibited within the boundaries of Mount Xu. Aside from Juju, the local mountain spirit, no one could use earth escape to enter or leave. This time, they were closer to Kaiyang Peak. According to He Lingchuan's calculations, the formation core of the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation was currently located slightly east and above Kaiyang Peak, requiring angular adjustments. Had they struck two days later as originally planned, the formation core would have been directly above Tianxuan Peak, very easy to identify. But with the risk of Fang Canran's people being exposed, they had no choice but to ramp up the difficulty and force the issue. Being far from Tianshu Peak, the ground defenses here were relatively sparse, making it more favorable for their operation. He Lingchuan put on his mask, patted Dong Rui on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "See you in front of Tianshu Peak!" "Half an hour!" Dong Rui handed him the bat demon puppet and ground his teeth. "If you don't come down within half an hour, I'm leaving." He started to turn around, then stopped abruptly, grabbing He Lingchuan's arm. "May success attend you!" With that, Dong Rui climbed back into the snail-toad's shell and vanished into the earth. He Lingchuan sprinted forward a hundred zhang, entering the territory of Mount Xu. Juju, the rock-and-fire monster, was already waiting for him there. It had compressed its form into a stone figure barely four feet tall, with only faint red glows showing at its joints while the rest of its body consisted of pitch-black stone. Meeting him, it wasted no words: "Follow me!" To be fair, the defenses on Mount Xu could hardly be called anything other than tight. There were sentry posts at the peaks, mountainsides, and valley bottoms alike, with five guards per post, positioned within sight of one another for mutual support. And those were just the visible posts; there were even more hidden sentries. One could not forget that this was a demon kingdom. When demons participated in guard duty, it was truly impossible to guard against every contingency. Unfortunately for them, Juju knew the distribution of the local defenses better than they did themselves. With this insider guiding the way, He Lingchuan moved fluidly, easily dodging guards and scout eyes at every turn. Juju halted under a large tree and whispered, "Don't move. Fifty zhang ahead on the cliff is an owl sentry, temporarily added tonight." An owl's night vision was dozens of times stronger than a human's. For He Lingchuan to walk right under its nose would be no easy feat. Yet he knew Juju, as the mountain spirit, was bound to have a way. Sure enough, after some twenty breaths, Juju suddenly hissed, "Go, quick!" Shrouded in darkness, they darted swiftly through the low brush. The rock-and-fire monster said, "I had my avatar drive a nest of giant rats right under its eyes. Once it swoops to the ground, we can slip past." He Lingchuan asked it, "Have you determined the cross-sectional span of the airflow around the formation core?" "I tested it—three zhang," Juju replied with absolute confidence. "I measured it repeatedly; there's no mistake."